


It's Not The End

by orphan_account



Series: Roswell NM Fics [2]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Coda, Communication, Episode: s01e13 Recovering the Satellites, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, Introspection, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 18:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18579886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “That’s the thing, Alex. It doesn’t matter. I’ve been holding onto this for so long that it’s not just my past anymore. It’s my present, and my future, and everything in between.”-Alex and Michael have that talk.





	It's Not The End

**Author's Note:**

> That was an Episode™, alright. Feel free to come yell with me about it on tumblr at michaelquerin! (I would link it, but last time I tried that it didn't work).

_“I’ll come back tomorrow. We can talk then.”_  

The words echo in Alex’s mind, sending a mix of dread and hope through his veins. His fingers twist together nervously, hours passing in silence as he stares out the window of Michael’s trailer, anxiously watching the sun rise. The world is too quiet for comfort, the stillness such a contrast to the life he’s known for the past 10 years. He’s used to screams, gunfire, darkness. 

He does recognize the fear, though. The ache that pulses through his chest, overwhelmed with the unknown. He’s spent countless nights awake in bed, desperately clinging onto happy memories to stave off the agony of the day. Michael features in most of them, smile wide, bright, a beacon of light Alex was too broken to keep back then. 

He’s ready now, he realizes, for whatever comes next. He’s ready to fight the real demons. 

He steps out of the trailer slowly, squinting against the sun’s rays as he searches for any sign of Michael’s arrival. More time passes. He sits, fiddles with his watch, slumps down in his chair, until finally the sound of an engine meets his ears. He watches Michael’s car tires kick up a cloud of dirt as he pulls up, and he stands, heart hammering. 

“What happened?” he asks, moving closer as Michael gets out of the car. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Michael says. 

He slips his hands into his pockets and tilts his head back, gazing at Alex from under the rim of his hat. He looks tired, world-weary, and a sweet, protective feeling curls in Alex’s gut, but he doesn’t move closer. He’s never been the one to make the first move. 

“I wanted to say-”

“I talked to Isobel earlier,” Michael interrupts, an unexpected urgency in his voice. “I told her how messed up all of this is, how every time I look at you I remember everything that’s gone wrong between us, with my family, with yours.”

“Guerin...”

“She said that maybe we should stop looking back and start looking forward.”

Alex’s throat tightens and he swallows thickly, eyes moving back and forth between Michael’s own. All of the words he’d planned on saying before are gone now, blown away in the slight breeze that makes Michael’s curls sway over his forehead. He’s beautiful, a piece of art that Alex never got to properly interpret. 

“Is that what you want?” he asks, jaw clenching as he holds back tears.

A wide, sad smile spreads across Michael’s face and he shakes his head, gaze dropping to the ground. He kicks at the dirt for a moment, silent, then pulls his hands out of his pockets. It only takes Alex a moment to notice. He stumbles forward, taking Michael’s hand between his palms and examining it. He runs his thumb over the suddenly unmarred skin, disbelief surging in his gut.

“Guerin, your hand,” he breathes out. “How?”

A soft, tearful laugh escapes Michael’s lips, and Alex lifts his eyes to meet his. He’s met with wide open skies, sincerity in every shade of brown, and it steals his breath away. He keeps hold of Michael’s hand, unwilling to let him go. 

 _Not yet. If he’s going to leave, then not yet._  

“That’s the thing, Alex. It doesn’t matter. I’ve been holding onto this for so long that it’s not just my past anymore. It’s my present, and my future, and everything in between.”

Alex shakes his head, breaths coming shorter. 

“I’m sorry, I-”

“You’re not hearing me. I’m telling you that  _you’re_  my future.”

Alex freezes, mouth falling open in shock as Michael steps closer. He can feel his breath washing over his face, can see the smiling growing in his eyes.

“I told Isobel that I love you,” Michael whispers, holding his gaze, “and that I always will. And it hurts like hell sometimes, but really, it’s all I need to know.” 

“You don’t look away,” Alex quotes him on a relieved exhale.

“Not really,” Michael replies, a grin curling on his lips. 

They kiss under the morning sun, hands still clutched tightly together, and for just a few moments, everything is perfect. 


End file.
